Tribute To Her Hero
by HomeSpunLove37
Summary: A FredAngelina fanfic, with moments between the two of them starting before Fred and George's escape in Book 5 and ending after Deathly Hallows, where they manage to stay connected through twoway mirrors and the strength of their love. SPOILERS of BOOK 7!
1. Making Amends

WARNING! Deathly Hallows spoilers in later chapters!!!!

A/N: This is my first Fred/Angelina fanfic, so review and let me know what you think!!! I'm a little late in writing this, I should have written before Deathly Hallows, so from now on, I'm just going to have to find a way around what happened. This story is from Angelina's POV, as she recounts major events that happen between her and Fred starting before the Fred and George escape in Book 5.

Disclaimer: All credit goes to J.K. Rowling, who created this brilliant world of Harry Potter. Some of the following dialogue and description comes directly from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 1

"Reckon we should leave them in our dorm? Before we go?" George asked his twin, as they walked in-sync towards the empty Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. A tall, dark-haired girl followed them closely, curiously taking in their every word.

"Nah. Might wreck the place, " said Fred, while plopping down in a seat and taking a huge bite of the turkey sandwich that magically appeared on his plate. Continuing with his mouth full and quickly glancing around them he said, "I mean, it won't wreck our stuff, cause… you know, but it'll make a mess of his."

The twins shared a secret glance, where they were clearly reading each other's mind, and laughed.

"All right then. We'll leave them in the dorm." Fred said, settling the matter, as he ruffled his ginger hair, so it caught the light in a way that made it look like his head was on fire.

Angelina sat down away from them, so she could still hear them, but they wouldn't notice her and stop talking. However, the boys merely grinned mischievously at each other. The twins were being shockingly discreet, yet Angelina had a feeling she knew what they were planning; she had been expecting and dreading it ever since they were banned from Quidditch. What made her feel worse was that her reaction to the ban surely contributed to the excitement radiating off of Fred's face.

"Hey Angela!" A voice shouted coming from the familiar figure plopping down noisily next to her. Angelina hardly could fake a smile. Lee's constant playful abuse of her name was an inescapable part of daily life, as they have been best friends since the age of seven. Angelina permitted it as long as Lee never called her "Angel". That was Fred's name for her. Was.

"What is it now?" Lee demanded, as he immediately noted her worried expression. "You can't be letting ol' Fred bother you again?!"

Shockingly enough, Lee and Angelina even confided is each other the woes of their love life. She attempted to help him pluck up the courage to ask out Katie Bell, who he had fancied for years. And he tried to help her with Fred.

"They're talking about you. And they're planning something." She said, stabbing her roast with her fork.

"Well, they're always planning something. And as long as they're discussing my brawn and brilliant commentaries…" Lee grinned.

"No, Lee, this is different."

"They're probably just causing trouble for that old hag." Lee said, trying to reassure her.

"To tonight!" Fred said suddenly, lifting his goblet of pumpkin juice for a toast.

"To expanding our horizons!" George added with glee as they drank.

Angelina grabbed Lee's wrist as realization dawned on her and the worst was confirmed.

"They're leaving. They're leaving Hogwarts." Angelina looked at Lee's shocked face. He knew it too.

Angelina swallowed hard, daring herself to pull it together. He was leaving. She made a mistake. She let all those weeks go to waste when she very well knew their time was limited. She ended things with him after the ban. Even when it wasn't his fault. Even when things were bad enough as it was, with Umbridge taking control and Voldemort was alive again. But as important as Quidditch was to her, she realized that wasn't why she ended it. Angelina was falling in love with him. And he was in love with her. That scared her. Angelina was independent and strong, and she promised herself that she would never become vulnerable, to trust someone with her heart. But now Fred was leaving, and Angelina couldn't take being just civil and distant anymore.

"Now I know Fred's a right git sometimes, but—" Lee started, but Angelina was already leaving her seat and marching over to Fred.

She sat down next to him, regretting how painfully close she was to him. Within seconds, Lee was on the other side of the table next to George, as if he was getting ready to intervene if a fight broke out.

"Hi." She said cautiously, staring into his hazel eyes.

"Hi." Fred responded, looking confused. Almost immediately he stood up to leave. "Need to go." He mumbled. "Next class."

"Wait!" Angelina said, standing up also. "I'll come with you. I need to ask you something. About… Potions." This was a workable excuse, as Fred was shockingly skilled at Potions. Fred hesitated and then nodded, but continued walking quickly, forcing Angelina to have to run to catch up.

"Fred, wait!" Angelina called to him as they entered a deserted corridor on the way to the Charms classroom. Fred stopped and stared at her, a demanding look on his face.

"What is it, Angelina?" Fred asked impatiently, abandoning the use of her nickname "Angel". She frowned at this.

"I…" She started, staring pointedly away from him. She needed to apologize. But her heart wasn't letting her. "I heard you and George talking." She finally looked at him. Having not been so close to him in weeks, she saw he looked tired and pale. And miserable.

Fred didn't respond, and just stared at her.

With a faint blush, Angelina continued. "You're leaving, aren't you?" She reached out to hold his hand, but Fred looked away from her immediately, and started to walk away. "Hey! Talk to me, Fred!" she yelled, following him. He shook his head and walked faster, desperate to put distance between them. Angelina ran and grabbed him, shoving him into a portrait with a little more force then she intended. Fred flinched, and suddenly noticed her eyes brimming with tears. "Answer me, you git!" She said, both hands forcing his shoulders against the wall.

"Why are you doing this?" Fred asked in a near whisper.

"Doing what?"

"Acting like you suddenly care about me." He said steadily, so his voice would not shake. With this, Angelina let go of him and backed away.

"Fred, I do care about you!" She insisted.

"Don't get me started, Angelina! Everyone was supposed to be united, to stand up to the hell this school is being put through. At a time like this, I needed you! We were amazing for a while! You made this place bearable! And you broke things off because of a stupid Quidditch match, or _'dedication to the team'_, like you said! If our relationship was that dispensable, after everything we've been through together, then I guess it didn't mean anything to you! But then here you are, acting like you care! After all of these weeks, all of these months—"

"I was falling in love with you!" Angelina shouted suddenly. Fred looked like he was hit by a bludger. "I—I'm in love with you." She took a deep breath, steadying herself. Tears were streaming down her face. "That's why I ended it. It was getting too serious. Things were going so fast. It scared me. I've never felt like this about anyone else—."

And Fred was kissing her. He held her against him, as if they could melt into each other. And everything around her was a blur, all thoughts slipped from her mind, as wonderful sensations replaced them. They stopped for air, feeling dizzy. She grinned at him.

He pushed her away, suddenly alarmed.

"Hey. What is it?" She asked, concerned.

"Why did you do this? Now?" He was yelling.

"What?" Angelina asked, shock and dread immediately paralyzed her.

"I was finally getting used to it! It finally stopped hurting as much! And now… I get the thing I wanted so desperately a week ago, the thing I still want, but now it's too hard! I—"

"You are leaving!"

Fred started walking away.

"Hey! Don't do this!" She screamed.

"You're going to be late for Charms." He said loudly, pointing in the direction of the class, with a threatening look on his face. She blinked in shock.

"Well, aren't you com—?" But Fred already tore down the corridor in the opposite direction.

Angelina arrived late to Charms class, where they were practicing Aguamenti Charms, and she sat down next to Lee who was laughing and sprinkling himself and nearby neighbors with water that fell from the air, as his wand was pointed at the ceiling. George was sitting on Lee's other side and was deep in conversation with his girlfriend, Alicia Spinnet.

Angelina started to try out her charm, but instead of having a jet of water come out of her wand, she emitted hot steam and hot tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Cut that out Lee!" She snapped as her books were starting to get drenched. Lee lowered his wand and stopped laughing immediately when he saw she was crying.

"What happened Angie?" He asked concerned, conjuring a limp handkerchief out of thin-air and handing it to her. She shook her head, frantically wiping her face dry and drawing a deep breath. Lee squeezed her hand sympathetically, and reached around her to squirt George in the ear with water. He jumped and turned around to glare at Lee for interrupting an important conversation.

"Wonder what's got his wand in a knot?" Lee thought out loud.

"They're really leaving, Lee." Angelina sighed, steadying herself.

"No… They can't be. They would have told me if they were." Lee said, looking doubtful, but depressed. Suddenly Alicia jumped out of her seat sobbing.

"You can't be doing this, George! How could you spring that on me like this!" She said, tears streaking down her face.

"Alicia we can still be together, even though I—" George insisted standing up and trying to hold her hand. She wrenched it away in a rage.

"No! That wouldn't work, and you know it! As much as we'd want it to, it wouldn't be the same!" She cried, making her way to the door, leaving her belongings at her desk. With a brief glance at Professor Flitwick, she added, "Professor I'm not feeling well." He gave her a stunned nod as every face in the room was watching since the sudden outburst. She tore out of the room. George sat down and stared at his desk with his the back of his neck flaming red. After a few minutes of stiff silence, the bell rang.

"I should gather her stuff for her. You go ahead." Angelina said briefly to Lee, who left, and went to organize her friend's things.

Emerging into the Entrance Hall a bit late, she was surprised to see it was packed, and pushed herself to the front of the crowd to see what the commotion was. And there they were. Fred and George were standing proudly in the middle of the ring of students, looking very pleased with themselves.

She was so surprised at the sight of them, that she just noticed people shrieking and yelling and laughing around her, there were many students covered in Stinksap; some found the bit rather amusing, and others were simply disgusted. The sight hit her along with a horrible smell.

"What happened?" She asked a Hufflepuff third year standing next to her.

"Fred and George turned the entire corridor upstairs into a huge swamp!" The girl informed her with glee.

"Should be just a matter of time, right George?" Fred shouted to his twin above the commotion.

"Oh yeah, any minute and the Inquisitorial Squad will be here. Followed by Umbridge." George agreed smugly.

"Fred!" Angelina exclaimed, stepping out of the ring of students. She couldn't let him leave, not without saying good-bye at least. An arm of someone in the crowd reached out to stop her. It was Lee. She tried to shake him off.

"Angelina, no. Just let him go." He said, as is trying to tell her that there was nothing she could do. Fred was leaving. She shouldn't try to make amends now, to convince him they should be together when they might never actually see each other again.

Fred gazed at her from a few yards away, for a moment with longing, temporarily regretting his decision. There was more commotion from the back of the hall and members of the Inquisitorial Squad shoved their way through the crowd. He shook his head at her, hoping she wouldn't emerge from the circle, but he caught her eyes for a moment and clearly mouthed the words "I love you".

Angelina smiled in spite of herself, and mouthed, "I love you too". Fred smiled sadly back.

"So!" Umbridge shouted triumphantly from the top of the stairs, with a vulture-like glare at Fred and George. Everyone turned to look at her at the sound of her angry girlish voice. "So… you think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?"

"Pretty amusing, yeah," said Fred, looking back up at her without the slightest sign of fear.

Filch made his way to Umbridge, with a piece of parchment and looking like he passed his Kwick Spell courses.

"I've got the form, Headmistress. I've got the form and I've got the whips waiting… Oh let me do it now…" He said excitedly.

"Very good Argus." She said. "You two are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school."

"You know what?" Fred said. "I don't think we are." He turned to his twin and said, "George, I think we've outgrown full-time education." It was coming, Angelina thought.

"Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself," said George lightly.

"Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?" asked Fred.

"Definitely." Said George.

And before Umbridge could say another word, they raised their wands and said together, "_Accio Brooms!_"

There was a loud crash in the distance and Fred and George's broomsticks, one still trailing a heavy chain and iron peg, were hurtling along the corridor till they reached their owners.

"We won't be seeing you," Fred told Professor Umbridge, swinging his leg over his broomstick.

"Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch," said George, mounting his own.

Fred looked around the crowd, lingering over Angelina's beaming face for a moment, and shouted, "If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley—Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes… Our new premises!"

"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat," added George pointing at Umbridge.

"STOP THEM!" shrieked Umbridge, but it was too late. As the Inquisitorial Squad closed in, Fred and George kicked off from the floor, shooting fifteen feet in the air. Fred looked across the hall at the poltergeist bobbing on his level above the crowd.

"Give her hell from us, Peeves."

As Peeves swept his hat from his head and sprang to a salute, Angelina broke into an applause with the rest of the school, and felt through her sadness great admiration towards the hero she loved, who was know flying out the open doors into the sunset with his twin.


	2. Helpful Packages

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed my story! I was kind of surprised that 5 people reviewed it within a few hours! And it made me definitely want to keep writing, because I wrote this on kind of a whim! So keep reviewing and I'll be motivated to keep writing! This chapter is taking place at the end of Angelina's 7th year, in the 5th book, right before her NEWTS.

Disclaimer: All characters and main plots are property of J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 2

It was difficult for Angelina to prevent herself from writing to Fred breaking things off again. Especially when they never had a proper good-bye, and it could be a risk to love someone so much that was miles away. It was even impossible for them to write, since the Inquisitorial Squad was reading and intercepting mail. However, the year was coming to an end with OWLS and NEWTS starting the next day, and the one thing that kept her going was the memory of their last kiss as Angelina stopped to visit the Portable Swamp each day.

She was starting to wish more and more that she could escape, or "do a Weasley", as it was called now. But her parents wouldn't allow it, even though it was her ambition to play professional Quidditch, which didn't require any NEWTS. She longed to be with Fred, who was so far away, at Number 93, Diagon Alley.

She sighed and took out a small glass jar that she had begun to carry with her daily. It was her daily routine: she cautiously filled the jar with some stinksap and proceeded to Umbridge's office. Every day she dumped Stinksap onto the door knocker of Umbridge's office; it was partly to let out some anger at the bat for driving Fred away and partly because she knew it would give Fred a heart attack and a good laugh if he were to know she was being so rebellious.

Angelina was just about to splatter the jar's contents on the new security door when she saw Lee sprinting towards her.

"Lee… what?!" She exclaimed as he grabbed her arm, forcing her to run with him. They ran all the way back into the Common Room where they collapsed on a couch to catch their breathes. "Who were we running from?" she asked finally.

"That git Malfoy. He caught me trying to lead a Blast-Ended-Skrewt into the Entrance Hall." Lee explained. Angelina rolled her eyes. "Reckon I should settle for that second Niffler they left me." He paused for a moment, then looked up at her hopefully. "You should come help me! Do you want to?"

"You don't need my help…" Angelina started, but catching the crestfallen look on Lee's face she hastily corrected herself. "Sure, Lee. Of course."

She was finding it very hard to say "no" to Lee lately, as his mood drastically declined after the twins left him here alone. Lee didn't need help with the Niffler, but it was clear that he was miserable causing trouble alone. And although she should have been studying, Lee had managed again to pull her away from her schoolwork… something that used to be Fred's job.

"Why do you have that jar of Stinksap, Angelica?" Lee asked, taking her out of her reverie.

She had forgotten she was still holding it, and with a sad smile she siphoned the smelly substance from the jar with her wand.

"I was going to dump it on Umbridge's door knocker… for Fred." She said, noting that this would be the first day she hadn't since he left.

"No way! That's been you who's been doing that every day? Ange, you surprise me!" Lee said. Angelina shoved the jar into her bag and sighed, receiving a look that was all too understanding.

"Let's go, shall we?" She said, avoiding his glance and she followed him to the castle grounds below Umbridge's window after he returned from the dormitory with an unusually squirmish carrier bag.

Angelina kept a look out on the grounds while Lee levitated the Niffler up in the air. Suddenly she saw something in the sky flying towards them.

"Hey, Lee, is that an owl?" She called to him, squinting to at the flying figure in the distance that was carrying a small package.

"Hold on. Almost got it." Lee replied, forcing the furry animal in the window. A tawny owl flew right at her, as if it knew she would be outside waiting for it. The bird landed on her outstretched arm as she took the package. It was square and flat, and she didn't know what it could be.

"What is it?" Lee asked, after the owl took light and they started back to the castle.

"Don't know." Angelina mumbled, and turning the package over, she saw it was addressed to "Angel" in big, dramatic, sloppy handwriting: Fred's. Her heart skipped a beat when she read this, and she hastily stored it away in her bag, wanting to open it in private.

That evening Angelina could hardly focus on her studying, and gave up on reviewing her Potions notes after only ten minutes. Slipping out of her study group in the Common Room that consisted of herself, Alicia and Lee, she retired to her dormitory to open Fred's package.

Although the room was empty, she climbed into her bed with the package and closed the drapes. For a moment she just stared at the package, like it would bite her, then she carefully unwrapped it.

It was a mirror. She looked at it confused, seeing her reflection in it, and then noticed some parchment that had fallen out of it. It was a letter.

"Dear Angel,

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write. I know that they've got all means of communication covered, so I've been looking for a way to communicate with you that they can't possibly watch.

It's taken me a while to work out the spells for these things too; to get them working properly. I think you're going to like this. It's a mirror. Ok, well obviously you know it's a mirror. But it's not just a mirror—it's a two-way mirror. So if you say my name while holding it, my—handsome—face will appear in yours, and your gorgeous face will appear in mine. That way we can talk to each other, and even see each other. Make sure you keep it on you; it's rather brilliant I think. Try it out soon!

I love you.

I miss you.

-Fred

P.S. I've sent this to you by owl, on the slim chance you'll be outside, or it'll reach you directly in the Common Room. So if it's you, Angel, well, thank Merlin. If it's not you, I'm sorely embarrassed and I regret that all my work is going to waste. And especially if this is in Umbridge's grubby hands: Bugger off!"

Angelina was a mixture of excitement and fear that this wouldn't even reach Fred. She took a deep breath and, hoping desperately that he would respond, she called out "Fred Weasley" in a shaky voice.

The image of an immensely attractive Fred Weasley immediately filled her mirror, appearing to be in the storage room of a shop.

"It worked!" Fred let out an excited whoop and then suddenly gazed at her with an passionate, serious look in his searching eyes. "I've missed you, Angel."

"I've missed you too." She sighed. For a moment both of them were at a loss for words, just staring at each other's reflection in the mirrors. "How's the joke shop?" She asked, breaking the silence. And she couldn't resist asking: "Are you ok?"

Fred laughed.

"I'm getting by as well as I can, not being with you. And business is picking up." He said honestly.

"I've got my NEWTS tomorrow."

"And you're talking to me, rather then studying? Even from miles away, I work my magic and charm quite well, don't I?"

"Yes you do! You're quite dashing in magenta robes with your ginger hair, you know."

"And you, in your traditional Hogwarts robes." He bowed his head in solute to her. "So what other out-of-character rebellious stunts have you been pulling?"

"Well, Lee and I were delivering one of your Nifflers to Umbridge when your owl came. And I've been painting her doorknockers with Stinksap. Every single day, actually.

"No you haven't!" Fred exclaimed in disbelief, laughing.

"Yes I have!" She said.

"And how is Lee managing life without us?"

"Quite terribly, actually. He's miserable. And lonely." She said, suddenly serious, as she understood exactly how Lee was feeling.

"Well, that's why he's got you. Lucky bastard." Fred joked, though he wasn't laughing.

"I want to leave Hogwarts, Fred. I want to come see you." Angelina said, feeling much like a kid voicing what they wanted for Christmas.

"I know you do, Angel. I miss you too." Fred said in a deep, shockingly mature voice. Hot tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to roll down her cheeks. She couldn't let him see her like this, she thought blinking rapidly. It would make things harder. Sensing and sharing her pain, Fred hastily changed the subject.

"How did Quidditch turn out?" He asked, knowing this would be a touchy subject if her team lost. Then again, he was sure that if they lost, she probably would have left school early.

And to his relief, a sincere smile broke out, lighting up her face.

"We won the Cup, Fred!" She exclaimed, ignoring that he wasn't there playing as Beater with them.

"And little Ronnie pulled through?" He asked amused.

"He did! He was great!"

"I always knew he'd come through!" Fred said, with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Fred?" Angelina said, suddenly feeling an extreme calm that she hadn't felt in weeks fall over her.

"Yeah?"

"I love you." She said, gazing into his warm hazel eyes.

"I love you too." He replied, his eyes twinkling at her. "Angelina?" He asked after a moment, suddenly nervous.

"Yeah?"

"Move in with me."

A/N: I hoped you liked it! Since I started this fanfic on a whim, I kinda didn't have a secure plot set for the rest of the story, but as I was writing this chapter, the idea of the mirrors just kind of came to me and I decided that that's going to play a significant part in the fanfic, and it gave me a base for the plot.

I also want to thank Genne, The Sushi Monster, GoTheDistance, Nesha227, and isn't-it-obvious930 for reviewing the last chapter right away!


	3. The Grand Tour

A/N: This takes place right after their 7th year. And for the sake of the story, the twins (or at least Fred) don't have any interest in "a pretty Muggle girl down in town who thinks my card tricks are almost like real magic" or any other girl that might have been mentioned in book 6 (or 7). So in this story, I'm just going to be pretending that didn't happen. My goal is to not have Fred and Angelina break up and make up multiple times in this, because I want to focus in on the strength of their relationship. Thanks again to all the reviewers!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property and brilliant creation of J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 3

The healers said it wasn't a magical illness; they couldn't explain it. The doctors said that she was simply sick and that the best thing the family could do for her is keep her comfortable at her house. But they couldn't explain it either.

The best explanation was Angelina's Uncle Miles' explanation: The painful news of Voldemort's return was too much of a shock for his sister. Angelina's mother was seriously ill.

"Angelina, you know you have to go. I will take care of her. Maria will be fine," her Uncle Miles told her as she stood on the porch of her house. She had briefly visited her mom right after school ended, and was on the verge of leaving.

"You-Know-Who killed my father last time he was in power!" Angelina cried miserably.

"Which is why this makes so much sense, Angie!" Lee said, his arm in hers supporting her, holding her luggage.

"Sam was a great Auror and he died valiantly. It may be a bit much for Maria to take at the moment, but I'll be here helping her get better." Miles said.

"Uncle Miles, I know you're a doctor, but you can't do magic!" she exclaimed.

"And your magical doctors said this wasn't a magical illness!" said Miles indignantly.

"That's not what I'm saying! Mum was Muggle-born and Dad was famously outspoken against You-Know-Who, which means there's a good chance that Death Eaters or You-Know-Who himself will try to attack her! And you wouldn't stand a chance!" she explained.

"And that's why I live next door!" Lee intervened. "I wouldn't let anything happen to your family, you know that!"

"I know." She said feebly.

"So you're going to move in with Fred, probably have great sex, and become a famous Quidditch player!" Lee exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood. Miles blinked several times, stunned, and turned an awkward shade of red.

"Lee!" Angelina shouted, shoving him and blushing fiercely.

He shrugged. "What I'm saying is you're going to carry on with your life with the man you're in love with, all without feeling guilty for leaving your mom under our care!"

"Maria wouldn't want you staying here to take care of her. She'd want you to live your life and be in love, while you still can!" Miles said. "It's what she and Sam did."

Angelina looked up at him surprised. She never heard this story.

"Your parents got married right in the middle of war the last time You-Know-Who was in power. A lot of people couldn't understand why, since most people were breaking things off with people they loved at that time. Most people were terrified of getting too serious or allowing themselves to love, in case someone would die. Your parents felt that if they did break up and one of them died, it would be even worse to deal with, since they would have lost their last chance of being with each other. And if anything, being together in tough times helped them survive as long as they did. Even after Sam died, your mother valued the time they had together, because they spent it wisely. Their love made them stronger; it was like a weapon against the tragedy around them. And though Sam died and You-Know-Who took so much from them, he still couldn't take away the love they held on to."

After a moment of silence, a squeeze to her hand from Lee brought her back to reality. She was lost in her Uncle's words. Angelina, who had thought herself strong on her own mere months ago, and who had promised herself she would never become vulnerable or trust someone with her heart, realized that she didn't feel strong at all without Fred. She loved him.

"Ok." She said after a while. "But if anything—"

"We'll tell you immediately." Miles said, interrupting her.

Angelina nodded, feeling strangely numb with both worry and excitement. She gave her uncle and Lee a hug and took her luggage from him. "Good bye."

"Tell Fred and George "hi" for me. Bye Ang." Lee said.

She turned on the spot, disapperating and feeling her way into constricted nothingness. As pressure was lifted off her, she turned to find herself in a brightly colored joke shop. She was there. Ninety-three, Diagon Alley. Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. Temporarily lost in awe of her surroundings, she jumped at the sound of footsteps behind her and promptly dropped her luggage.

"Hey Angel."

She turned around to see Fred, gazing at her with a boyish smile on his face, standing in his magenta robes. If it was possible, he seemed to have grown a few inches, and his hair was a bit longer, curling over his ears at a perfect length. His warm, hazel eyes that reminded her of autumn were twinkling at her, the same as always.

"Fred." She whispered in disbelief. After anticipating this moment for months, they both seemed as if they were in full-body-binds—afraid that if they moved, the moment would disappear.

"How's your mum?" Fred asked gently, still not moving and gazing at her with compassion in his eyes.

"She's with my uncle. And Lee." She said, her mind starting to drift to other thoughts, like the feeling of his arms around her and his lips on hers. "He says "hi"."

Fred nodded. And suddenly he rushed towards her, pulling her into his arms and holding her like she would disappear if he ever let go. He pressed his soft lips on hers. The kiss deepened rapidly, with both of them feeling more alive by the second and more aware of how much they missed each other. She pulled off his magenta robes, revealing Muggle clothing, and he pulled away suddenly, with a mischievous grin on his face.

"I believe I haven't given you the grand tour yet."

"No. You haven't."

"Let's start with the upstairs first, shall we?" He said, grabbing her hand and with a flick of his wand brought her luggage floating up the stairs after them.

Their upstairs was surprisingly roomy, and along with a sitting room and kitchen, the twins each had their own room.

"And you're sure this is ok with—Oh, hello George." Angelina said, as Fred's identical twin waltzed suddenly from his bedroom.

"Angelina." George nodded, as he plopped down on a sofa. "I heard about your Mum. Hope she's alright."

"Thank you." Angelina said briefly, not wanting to dwell on the subject. "So… my moving in with Fred is ok?"

"Sure it is. We'd love your company here with us… Although I'm sure Fred loves it a bit more, I'd have to say." George said, raising his eyebrows. "Just as long as you cast an Imperturbable Charm each night, mate." He said to Fred, winking.

"Alright, wanker, that's enough." Fred said, the tips of his ears reddening.

"How's Lee doing? And Katie Bell for that matter." George asked. "I heard Lee finally plucked up the courage and asked her out, the sly dog!"

"Yes, they're fine." Angelina said, glancing at the door leading to Fred's room. "He says "hi", by the way."

George smiled mischievously, clearly knowing how impatient they were getting. Fred, meanwhile, had slowly been inching her luggage in the air towards the door; it was now softly bumping it repeatedly.

"What's that noise?" George asked, though he knew. He turned to look at the source with mock-surprise and realization. "Oh… I see."

Thankfully, a bell issued from downstairs, signaling that there was a customer.

"You going to get that Fred? No? Well alright." George said with a smirk, as he finally excused himself. Fred and Angelina exchanged pleasantly annoyed glances, and Angelina opened the door to Fred's room with her wand, taking the initiative to lead them in there.

"It's… clean." She said looking around the tidy room with shock.

"Well… that took a while." Fred admitted.

"You know I don't expect you—or want you— to keep your room clean. I don't like it _this_ clean." She said, putting her arms around his neck as her luggage landed on the floor with a _thump_.

"I'll take that in mind." Fred said, pointedly dropping the magenta robes he carried upstairs on the floor.

"That's more like you." Angelina smiled, pressing her lips eagerly to his. With a flick of his wand, the door shut and locked, and an Imperturbable Charm was cast.

For a moment, Fred pulled away and gazed intently in Angelina's eyes.

"We're going to be alright." He said. Always her hero and always reassuring her, making her feel safer and stronger. "I love you, Angel."

"I love you too, Fred Weasley." She said, meaning it with her whole heart and kissing him again, as he laid her carefully on the bed.

A/N: Sorry if this was a shorter one, I kinda needed a chapter to set up Angelina's background. Thanks again to the people who reviewed Chapter 2: Genne, Santiva Potter, The Sushi Monster, and Nesha227.


	4. Visitors

A/N: So again, any other girls that Fred and George seemed interested in during book 6 or 7, did not happen here, for the sake of the story. Thanks again to all who reviewed it!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me.

Chapter 4

"Molly, dear, they'll be fine. Let's go now. We have to pick up the kids' schoolbooks from Flourish and Blotts." Arthur Weasley said, taking his wife's hand to try and pull her away from her sons.

"Now wait Arthur, I almost forgot." Molly said, brushing his hand aside and pulling out a small handbag. She opened it up and searched in it with the top of it to her elbow. "Ah, here it is." Retrieving her hand, she pulled out a whole cooked roast.

"Mum, you didn't need to bring us dinner!" George insisted, though he took the roast with a hungry glint in his eyes.

"We can get food for ourselves!" Fred said.

"Well with you three coming to dinner at the Burrow only on Sundays," Molly started, including Angelina, who had just started joining them for Sunday dinner last week. "I want to make sure you get satisfactory meals as often as I can!"

"Oh, but really Mrs. Weasley, your meals are way better than satisfactory. Angelina complimented her, a bit anxious about getting Fred's dear Mum's approval.

"Angelina you're a doll." Molly said, pulling her into a motherly embrace. "And I do hope your Mother gets better. Our thoughts are with her."

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley. That means a lot." She forced a smile, as she felt a quick pang of guilt and worry that she had been instructed not to feel.

"Alright Molly, that's enough." Arthur said, trying again to make his wife leave.

"Yes, dear. But Fred, George, _do_ consider a haircut. It's getting a bit long. Don't treat your hair how your brother Charlie does." She persisted, smoothing Fred's hair down with her thumb.

"Molly! Really…" Arthur urged her.

"Alright, Arthur." Molly said, surrendering. She quickly gave each of them another hug, and after coming up from the last one she quickly wiped her eyes and muttered something about the bright lights in the store.

"See? That wasn't so bad. Mum loves you." Fred said, pecking Angelina on the lips after Arthur succeeded in dragging Molly out of sight.

"Well of course she loves you! With Fleur at home, you're basically Mum's new best friend. I'm surprised she didn't try to teach her how to knit!" George said, leaving to pit the roast upstairs.

"Although your Mum certainly wasn't thrilled to find that we sleep in the same bed." She said frowning.

"True. But Mum's old fashioned. And when I told her we were living together, it probably didn't occur to her that I meant in the same room. Or even the same house." Fred said laughing. But as Angelina didn't crack a smile, he continued. "We've been living together all summer. Mum was bound to visit sooner or later."

"Yeah, I know."

"Seriously Angel, my Mum loves you!" Fred exclaimed, beaming. Angelina had to believe that—as Fred stated it with excitement and pride written all over his face. He adored his mother and his whole family, as that was half of what he talked about. Fred expressed many times his dreams of raising a huge family like his own. And having a family with Angelina. She was starting to love the idea too. Especially when she watched him talk about it with such passion. When Fred Weasley got a bit older, he was getting married to Angelina Johnson, settling down, and having a Burrow full of children.

And Fred's exhilarated and unbreakable mood continued through the evening, when they dined on a delicious roast from Mum. It continued through most of the night, when him and Angelina laid peacefully asleep in each other's arms.

Fred's mood only diminished when a startling bright light woke them up at a time too soon to be morning.

"What the…?" Angelina asked groggily, turning in Fred's arms to face away from the disturbance.

Fred sat up in bed, to get a better look at the silvery light that took the clear and defined form of a tarantula. He knew what it was, and it's appearance in their bedroom was foreboding.

It was Lee's patronus.

"Hey… Angel. Sit up." Fred said, patting her shoulder.

"What's the matter, Fred?" She mumbled, turning over to face the patronus again. "Who's—?" And then she knew and sat up against Fred.

"Angelina." Lee's voice said, coming from the tarantula. "There's been an attack. Your mother is safe, but…" Lee paused, as if he was there to see the horrified expression on Angelina's face, as she knew what was coming. "Your Uncle Miles is dead."

The tarantula vanished into vapor.

"What?" Angelina said, her brain too stunned to register it… to comprehend.

Fred held her close, protecting her, as her body collapsed against him and she began to cry, hardly able to take in air.

"Shhh…" He whispered soothingly, gently stroking her hair, though fear erupted inside him.

"Fred, I—" She sobbed.

"I know." He cut her off. "You have to go and take care of your mom."

A/N: I got the idea for Lee's patronus being a tarantula from Book 1, when the twins greet Lee at Platform 9 ¾ and he has a box with a hairy spider in it. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed my story! Your reviews keep me motivated, so anything you'd have to say would be helpful!


	5. Bad News and Promises

A/N: Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate them. Without any reviews from you guys, I basically will end up stopping the story, cause it takes up a lot of time. (Though I totally love writing it! I just need to know it's being read.) So this chapter partially takes place the night of the last chapter, the end of summer before book 6, but the rest of it takes place at the end of Book 6.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 5

She alone remained free from the disaster at the Ministry to do the Dark Lord's bidding. She was most grateful that after the blunder there he was even allowing her to live. Now Bellatrix Lestrange was determined to satisfy his every need—to fulfill every mission he so mercifully bestowed to her.

The Dark Lord wished for her to find and bring him her sister Narcissa and her son. They were hiding from him because of Lucius' mistake, knowing that Voldemort was planning to punish them. As cowardly and disloyal as Narcissa was, she was admittedly clever. But not too clever for the Dark Lord. Narcissa knew that the last place anyone would look for the Malfoy family is in the midst of a Muggle town. And that's why that was the first place Voldemort told Bellatrix to look.

She strode down the suburban streets at dusk, her face carefully hidden in the dense mist, feeling for the sensation of poorly concealed magic.

As she walked in front of a house with a front porch, she felt it. But it didn't feel right. The magic was weak here; it was dying. She kept walking and as soon as she reached the next house she felt it again. Yet this house was not right either. It was not the magic of the Malfoy family. Bellatrix knew the feel of Malfoy magic. No protection and concealment could disguise the hint of Dark magic. She kept walking.

She had walked two more streets when she felt it: the appealing Dark Magic that sent the thrill of blood0lust down her veins. As soon as Bellatrix turned to approach the house a figure appeared walking towards her in the mist. She paused, waiting for her next victim to come closer, so she could see the figure's face. It was a middle-aged Muggle man and since he undoubtedly saw her—a wanted criminal—she pulled out her wand.

He was walking quickly. She frowned at the realization that torturing him would cause too much of a commotion. And she still had a mission to accomplish.

The man was feet away from her. As he appeared to be on a leisurely stroll, he smiled at her and bowed his head in polite greeting. However, he quickened his pace and looked alarmed as he caught a glance at the amused, sadistic smirk on her face.

And then it was over. There was a flash of green light and the man crumpled on the ground, without standing a chance against the cackling witch who was already entering a nearby house.

Angelina groaned, feeling exhausted. She was scraping the untouched dinner she found in her sleeping mother's room into the garbage and was thinking about a letter she was supposed to be finishing to her two-time Quidditch Captain (this time of the team Puddlemore United) Oliver Wood. She had to explain why she couldn't play the upcoming summer season, starting in two weeks. The thought of her life without Quidditch—her dream—was starting to drive her to the edge. She had been taking care of her mother for months and it was coming with too many sacrifices. She could hardly leave the house, seeing as though her Uncle Miles was killed just taking a stroll. She couldn't be a real part of the Order of the Phoenix (although Fred wouldn't let her join anyway, since it was dangerous). She couldn't have a job. And she couldn't live with Fred. They talked multiple times a day, through the mirrors. Fred even came over, though only about once a month, since he still had to run the joke shop. But it wasn't enough. Everyday problems and the tragedies the war brought came crashing down on her, much harder, now that she was without Fred. It reminded her of something her Uncle said about a year ago. "And if anything, being together in tough times helped them survive… Their love made them stronger; it was like a weapon against the tragedy around them." She was realizing now how true that was.

Life was starting to seem impossible stuck in her mum's house. And all of these sacrifices were causing her to slightly loathe her mother, which in turn made her feel guilty.

Angelina tossed the food in a Muggle dishwasher—as Lee said that other wizards could detect a magical household if its tenets were constantly using magic. She walked upstairs to her desk in her room to continue writing her letter, carrying her square two-way mirror with her. She had been carrying it with her all over the house since she moved in, so she would always have it ready if Fred used it. They have been using the mirrors multiple times a day, talking whenever Fred wasn't busy in the store.

He was one of her two connections to the outside Wizarding world; Lee still lived next door to her. However, he only stopped over once a week. Though Angelina knew it was not true, she secretly felt he could have stopped Bellatrix Lestrange from killing her uncle. It was necessary to blame someone. Instead of accepting it as another tragedy of the war, it had to be someone's fault, so that was she could feel that her uncle didn't have to die. The person she really blamed was herself, for not being there, but it was easier to think it was Lee's fault. She always made excuses for not wanting him to come over. It was a battle between not feeling guilty and not being alone. Seeing as though when she came to this battle, she remembered that Lee was the person who kept insisting that she stayed in doors—for her own safety—she usually refused to see him.

"Angelina Johnson." She heard Fred's voice coming from the mirror as she finished writing the letter and tied it to her owl Radva's leg. She glanced over to glimpse Fred in the mirror.

"Hey! Hold on a second." She said opening a window to Radva to fly out of. He flew into the secluded backyard and disappeared into the night sky. Angelina turned to sit down in front of the mirror and saw that he looked terrified. She had never seen Fred Weasley scared before.

"What happened? Fred are you—" She asked, not bothering to conceal the fear in her own voice.

"I'm fine." But he was shaking. "Angelina, there was an attack at Hogwarts tonight."

"What?! How?"

"Death Eaters. Somehow they got in. Dad said something about Draco Malfoy fixing that old Vanishing Cabinet—oh my god, George and I shoved Montegue in that thing, what if--?"

"No Fred, it's not you fault. If Malfoy fixed it, then—"

"Dumbledore's dead."

Angelina's jaw dropped.

"Snape killed him. I bet that was the reason the came to the castle. Dad says Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who ever feared. And now…" Fred said with a distant look on his face, as if he was seeing horrors of the war to come.

"Don't say that Fred!" Angelina exclaimed, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. "This can't be happening. Things cant' get any worse!"

"And Bill…" Fred started, looking sick. Angelina's heart skipped a beat. "He got… bit. By Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf. But we don't know what's going to happen to him. It's not a full moon. Lupin doesn't know…" He trailed off, lost in thought.

Suddenly a door opened and shut in her house, causing Angelina to jump.

"Angel, what was that?" Fred asked.

"Someone's…" She stopped and ran to her mother's room with the mirror still in her hand. "Mum? Mum, get up!" She said shaking her.

"What's going on?" Her mom muttered, rolling over in her bed.

"Damn it, Mum, someone's here. We need to disapperate." She said, forcing her mum to sit up. "Here, just take my—"

The bedroom door opened, and Lee walked into the room to find a terrified Angelina clutching a mirror with Fred's face reflecting from it and holding the hand of her confused mother.

"Ang! What are you--?"

"You bastard! What the hell do you think you're doing, sneaking into my house at a time like this!" She screamed, dropping her mother's hand and shoving Lee hard into the hallway.

"How do you know? I was just coming to tell you. Is that Fred?" He asked, pointing to the mirror.

"Yes. He told me. It's a two-way mirror." She snapped, turning to her mother. "Mum, everything is alright. Lie down and go back to sleep. I'll be downstairs if you need anything."

The old woman suddenly grabbed Angelina's wrist.

"It's him, isn't it? You-Know-Who?" The thing Angelina's mother said didn't usually make sense. But now, in the middle of the might, Maria was more lucid then she had been in a year. The one time there was emotion in the old lady's grey eyes, it was fear. Yet as Angelina looked at her, seeing her as if for the first time in awhile, she saw a young woman, in love and alive, instead of the old, senile lady who stayed in her room all day giving conversations with her dead husband.

Out of the corner of her eye, Angelina saw Fred's eyes wondering in the mirror and she was brought back to the current situation and her current rage.

"Yes, mum. It's him." She said sadly, helping her mum back in bed and quietly leaving the room.

When she got in the hallway she grabbed Lee's arm and dragged him downstairs.

"Lee are you ok?" Fred asked from the mirror.

"Of course Lee's ok!" Angelina shouted. "Lee's alright even when people he's protecting end up dead!"

"What?" He asked, laughing in shock.

"Yeah, Lee, laugh! You let my uncle roam around and he got murdered by a Death Eater!" Angelina snapped.

"What? Angie, that was in the middle of the night, I didn't know!"

"So that must be why you're trapping me in the house, so I can't have a job or play Quidditch or live at all, so you can make sure no one else dies on your watch?"

"Hold on. I'm coming over." Fred disappeared from the mirror. A second later he was in the living room with them. "Angelina, please calm down. You know your uncle's death wasn't Lee's fault."

"So this is why you only let me check on you once a week? Like you really have laundry to do!" Lee shouted, getting up in her face.

"Hey! Stop." Fred said, pushing him away from Angelina.

"Check on me? I'm not a child Lee! Don't you know how miserable I've been? You've forbidden me from even doing magic so I do have laundry to do!"

"I'm trying to keep you safe!"

"Keep me safe? Uncle Miles needed your protection because he wasn't a wizard! I can defend myself!"

"Hey." Fred said calmly, taking her hand. "I wanted Lee to keep you safe! I told him to protect you, Angelina."

"Fred, I don't need to be protected, I can defend myself!" She insisted.

"I know you can, but if anything happened to you, I don't know what I would do." He said seriously. "And I know this year has been impossible for you, and I'm sorry. I love you though and I didn't want anything to happen to you."

Angelina started to cry and she nodded.

"Angelina, I'm—" Lee started. Angelina let go of Fred's hand and turned to Lee.

"I'm so sorry. I just needed for Uncle Miles' death to not be another war tragedy. I didn't want to think that he had to die, I needed to think that it could have been prevented. It was… It was just easier to blame you for it, then it would be to blame myself. I know it wasn't your fault." She sniffled, giving him a hug. "No one wants to be prisoner in their own house. Uncle Miles just had to get out of the house, away from your protection."

"I'm sorry for doing that to you. I just want you to be safe, too." He said, heading towards the door.

"Oh, and Lee?" She called after him.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

He nodded, smiled, and was gone.

"You know that you're the only person who makes me feel safe?" She asked Fred casually, though she meant it with everything inside her.

"Yeah. I know."

"You know why?" Angelina asked again.

"Why?"

"Because you're my hero."

Fred smiled, looking truly touched, and they both fell silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry, Fred." She said quietly.

"For what? It's just been a hard year." He said, pulling her into his arms.

"But now it going to be getting harder." She said, wiping her eyes.

"No, we'll get through this."

"I don't know if I can, without you here." She said, her voice quivering.

Fred lifted her chin up to his face with her thumb and looked deep into her eyes.

"You will never be completely without me, Angel. We're going to survive this war. Everything's going to be ok. I promise you." He said, meaning it.

"You can't make that kind of promise. How do you know we'll survive?" She said, feeling helpless just thinking about it.

"Because I love you. That's something that You-Know-Who will have a hell of a time trying to take away from us." He said smiling.

"Uncle Miles said the same thing. In so many words."

"It's true. Even if something happens to me—"

"Don't say it!" Angelina cried. "You are not going to talk like that.

Fred shrugged.

"But even so, whatever happens, I'll meet it with a laugh. I believe that our love is so strong that whatever we have today will be even stronger when this is over."

Angelina was crying.

"You are not going to die." She said.

"Angel…" Fred replied warningly.

"Say it! You are not going to die. You are going to live forever."

"No one can live forever."

"You will. Just say it. Say "I am not going to die.""

Fred kissed her.

"You're avoiding it." She insisted.

"How about this." Fred said, leading her upstairs. "I plan on marrying you someday, Angelina Johnson. Someday when this whole war is over."

She looked him over, and stared into his warm hazel eyes, that sparkled with life. They made her trust him. Always and forever, those eyes would be twinkling with laughter. Alive with jokes to be told and trouble to make. They were filled with love.

"I guess that will do." She said seriously. "And I can't wait till then."

A/N: Review please!


	6. Sacrifices

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed again!!! This chapter takes place just a few weeks after the previous one—during the Chapter "The Seven Potters" in Book 7. WARNING!!!! BOOK 7 SPOILERS!!!!!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 6

"Hey Ange! Open up!" A voice shouted from outside followed by a pounding on the front door.

Angelina jumped in shock at the sudden noise, as she was comfortably adapted to the constant silence this Saturday was bringing. Some boiling tea splashed onto her hands from the teapot she was lifting off the stove.

"Damn!" She cursed, dropping the kettle on the stove with a clatter. She was also adapting shockingly decent to life as a Muggle—something that completely terrified her; she was starting to worry that she wouldn't be able to do magic when she tried to. That could be extremely dangerous if she ever needed to defend herself. To make herself feel safer, she started to carry her wand with her around the house along with the mirror. This proved to be a bad thing: having her wand out constantly was making her itch to use it. Angelina grabbed an ice cube to hold against the burn and stomped over to the door.

"Who is it?" She snapped.

"Lee Jordan."

"What are you doing to my bloody life?" She asked a security question, unable to resist.

"I'm protecting it." The voice called from behind the door. "So one day when this war ends you will still be alive to have many offspring and years of marriage with Fred Weasley."

"No. Wrong answer wanker, try again." She said.

"I'm torturing you and sucking the ever-living life and happiness out of it." Lee said, after a sigh.

"Correct." Angelina said, feeling pathetic that she was actually taking pleasure out of being mean to Lee. She unbolted the door and opened it.

"My, my, what's that smell?" She asked, mock-curiously, sniffing around the open door after Lee clambered in. "Oh! It's oxygen. Forgot what that was almost. Do you smell that, Lee?"

"No." He said unsmiling.

Angelina sighed and plopped down onto the sofa and motioned for him to sit down in the rocking chair he was next to.

"Ok Lee. I'm sorry." She said robotically.

"No, Angelina. I think you're being ungrateful." He said, looking frustrated. "This isn't easy for anyone. Everyone's making sacrifices, and I think that staying in doors and not using magic is a small one, with all the protection I'm giving you and your mum."

"You're right, Lee. Thanks. I'm sorry." Angelina mumbled, feeling a tad guilty.

"I mean, you're both safe and not hurt, so…" He continued, but stopped when Angelina shoved her blistering and bubbling burn in his face. He winced and gently took her hand in his to examine it closely.

"I know. Shame I can't do magic." She said. Lee hastily pulled out his wand. "Hey! You're in my house! You can't do it either!" She pulled her hand out of his reach as he put his wand away, knowing Lee would be tortured by the fact she was in pain.

Lee suddenly looked lost in thought and deeply troubled by something.

"Alright Lee, do you want some tea? I might still have enough for both of us, even though my skin absorbed some." She said, adopting a friendlier tone and walking into the kitchen.

"Sure."

She returned a moment later with two cups and saw he still looked bummed.

"Merlin, Lee, I was joking." Angelina said. He appeared to not have heard this. "Is everything alright? Is there something you need?"

At these words, lee looked up at her and forced a smile.

"I'm fine Angie. Thanks." He replied. "I have something to tell you."

"Ok." She said, feeling uneasy.

"I've decided to start a wireless Radio Program!" He explained, looking torn between excitement and caution.

"That's great!" Angelina exclaimed, a bit puzzled.

"Yeah! I've got it all arranged—magically—so I'm on the air, but I haven't had my first broadcast yet. I'm going to report the news—the real news. You know, about what You-Know-Who's up to."

"Oh. Well that's great! I'm sure the Prophet is a load of rubbish now. You'd be perfect for it too, Lee." She said, still a bit confused. "Although, you know this is going to be dangerous. You-Know-Who will be after you, for standing up to him."

"Yeah." Lee said, now avoiding her glance. "That's why… I'm leaving. It won't be safe here. I'm going to be moving constantly, actually."

The words were sinking in.

"So… you won't be… trying to keep me and mum safe anymore… I see." She said, slowly standing up and walking to the door.

"Now listen, Ang, this is so important. And your house is safe—I've just finished putting Protective Charms around the boundaries. You're safe, trust me." He insisted, as he followed her and pulled her away from the door. She turned on him and pulled away.

"Don't touch me, now. The program's going to be great, Lee, really." She spoke evenly, trying to remain calm and focusing on not hitting him. "If you're going to leave, then, go now. Fred asked you to protect me. You said yes… And now you're leaving. You're breaking your word to him."

"It's not like that!" Lee yelled offended.

"And this is all right after you march in here talking all about protecting us and how I'm only making small sacrifices and how I'm ungrateful! Making me feel guilty! I guess it was you who was feeling guilty—saying all that bullshit!"

"I protected you for almost over a year! I gave up having a life myself, you couldn't expect me to devote my life to you forever!" Lee shouted.

"You gave up your life? You still carried on with your job and went out constantly! You weren't really here protecting me! The most you did was visit once in a while! No wonder Uncle Miles died on your watch—you weren't watching him!" She retorted.

"Oh, not this again! You're acting crazy!"

"Crazy? Yeah, I must be crazy after being trapped in this house all year!"

"I'm not going to take this! All year you were being so rude to the person keeping you alive!"

"What? Fred's been—"

"Fred! Yeah. Where is Fred? He arranged a bodyguard when he could have moved in with you here! And protected you!"

"Hey!" Angelina shouted, her eyes burning with tears in spite of her anger. "He has a shop to run! And he's made me feel safer then you have this year, even from miles away!"

"Exactly! I have a job to do, too!"

"And you have friends! You promised Fred!" A tear spilled down her cheek. "Fred's going t-to be furious!" She said, whipping out her mirror and shouting Fred's name.

"Hey! Put that away or I'm gone!" Lee hollered threateningly with his hand on the doorknob.

But Angelina was already distracted. Harry's face—not Fred's—appeared in the mirror.

"Harry, what--?" She asked.

"No, Angel, it's me!" Harry's reflection shouted. And in the background was sky. A dark cloaked figure streaked out behind him. Angelina shrieked.

"Harry—I mean Fred, what the hell's going on?!" She screamed, unaware of the silent stream of tears pouring down her face.

"I'm ok!" Harry's reflection wavered from the mirror, as if he swerved violently on a broom. "Don't worry!"

"Fred! Bloody hell! Put that damned thing away now!" Arthur Weasley's voiced roared.

And before Fred could respond, a blast of green light went flying past Fred's arm and the next moment the reflection she saw was her own.

Angelina was numb. She felt an arm go around her and tears roll down her cheeks. 'Nothing happened.' She told herself. 'He's ok.'

"I'm sure Fred's fine, Angel. Don't worry." Lee said gently.

Angelina pulled away and whipped out her wand before Lee finished talking. Her eyes were full of rage behind the tears.

"Impedimenta!" She cried with a swish of her wand. A weak shower of sparks fell from her wand, leaving herself and Lee—who was in mid-flinch—looking stunned.

Angelina punched him in the eye instead.

"How dare you!" She cried. "At a time like this… After you just broke your promise to him!"

Lee still looked shocked.

"Fred calls me Angel!" She snapped.

"I… hadn't noticed. I was… I'm sorry." Lee stuttered, his face falling. He hadn't noticed.

"I don't want to hear it now! You've even turned me into a Muggle! Not doing magic for a year!" She sputtered, grasping for straws and sinking to the floor.

"Ang…" He said, taking a step towards her. She shook her head.

"Lee, you need to leave." She said.

And he was gone, leaving Angelina even more alone and miserable. Clutching the mirror and her useless wand, she wandered up to her mum's room to watch her sleep. Any company was good company. She was going to wait for Fred's face to appear in the mirror—no matter how long it took.

She opened the door of her mother's bedroom and was surprised to find her awake. Maria was sitting up in bed, with her back to the door, and she appeared to be holding something.

"Hey mum. Whatcha got there?" Angelina asked, sitting down next to her. Her mother tried to hide what appeared to be an edition of the Daily Prophet newspaper. Angelina took it from her and examined it. It was today's paper. But they weren't supposed to be using owls. Ever since Dumbledore's death, they upped security, and Lee decided that even owls would attrack unwanted attention.

"Why do you have this, mum?" She asked skimming a headline reporting that Harry Potter was wanted for questioning about the death of Alubs Dumbledore.

"Oh dear. I didn't want you to know. You're so young! You shouldn't be worrying about the war, or who might be dead." Her mother smiled kindly, unable to notice that the war was making Angelina feel older and was driving her insane with worry. 'And who might be dead.'

"Well thank you, Mum. That was thoughtful." Angelina said, playing along. "Why are you getting the Prophet, though?"

"It's grown-up business. You'll understand when you're older. Your father and I just want to keep up with the times. Isn't that right, Samuel?" The old lady smiled warmly at someone who wasn't there.

Angelina sighed and looked down at the floor. There was a foot-high stack of old papers. Which meant that Angelina could have been doing magic if they were regularly getting owl post. If there was anyone trying to detect magic before, Angelina and Maria would have been dead. But she knew she shouldn't start doing magic now—if she even could. Angelina grabbed a quill and piece of parchment and quickly wrote a letter to the Prophet cancelling the subscription and sent Radva out with it. When she returned to the bed she noticed an article about Dumbledore from a paper earlier that summer. It was about Rita Skeeter's new book "The Life and Lied of Albus Dumbldore". She briefly scanned the article and finished it feeling nauseous.

No one was on their side. No one is brave enough to stand up for what they know is right.

'Lee is.' She thought to herself. Right there she began to realize that not only did Lee need to do this, but there were people who needed him to do it.

And that was what she told Fred when she finally heard him call her name from the mirror—after he described what happened to him and to George and to Moody. After she told him about her inability to do magic. After she told him that Lee was leaving to broadcast the truth and Fred loudly swore that he would murder him. Angelina calmed him down and told him that the world needed someone like Fred. Someone who would risk his life for them, like he did to protect Harry. And that person was Lee, who was risking his life to be the one person who would tell the world the truth.

And Fred understood.


	7. Dealing With Darkness

A/N: Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! I'm getting really busy, so I might be crunching to get the last 4 chapters out and finish this within the next few days, with maybe more than one chapter per day.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 7

Cold.

Angelina shifted in her bed, pulling her covers up to her neck. The house was freezing and it was only the beginning of fall. Even in the middle of the night, it was never this cold. Maybe she forgot to close the windows. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

She opened her eyes and couldn't see anything. There was no moonlight shining into her window. Angelina could only make out dull, grey, lifeless clouds, completing the empty feeling that was overcoming her. She crept to the window, goosebumps breaking out all over her skin, as she stumbled towards the window in her pajamas. Running into something hard, she felt a sharp pain in her leg, but was confused as the crash was muffled. Suffocating silence filled the air, and she grasped blindly at her window, which was closed.

Panicking, she hastily located her still useless wand and the mirror and walked quickly and cautiously to her mother's room.

"Lumos." She muttered. A dull light ignited at the tip of her wand. At least it was something. Angelina opened the door to her mother's room.

The bed was empty.

Dread pounded in the pit of her stomach as she turned around and clambered down the stairs. The sound of hoarse, rattling breathing grew loudly with each stair.

"Mum!" Angelina shrieked, her cry almost getting lost in the darkness.

Maria stood in her ragged nightgown and grey woolen shawl around her shoulders looking obliviously out the open picture window in the sitting room. She was wearing a serene, faraway look on her face, as if the feelings of hopelessness and depression were not having any effect on her.

The stormy sky outside was full of swarming Dementors.

"Mum! What are you doing?" Angelina cried, running to her mother and trying to pull her away from the window. She seemed glued to the spot.

"Samuel!" Her mother moaned. The dim wand light that fell on her old, weary face revealed a myriad of tears streaming silently down her face.

Dementors outside were gliding closer to the house, their drawing breathes becoming deafeningly loud.

Angelina reached for the window, struggling to shut it with all her might. As she pulled, Fred's mirror fell silently from her fingers and lay gleaming, almost hidden under the sofa. Suddenly a frail hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled Angelina away from the window with surprising strength.

"Mum!" Angelina yelled, struggling with the old woman who she had been watching over a year.

"Angelina, don't get in my way." Maria said, her voice stable and her determined eyes telling Angelina that she was completely lucid.

Then it dawned on her. Her mother wanted the Dementors to come; she wanted them to suck out her soul.

"Mother, you don't have to do this! Everything is alright—you're going to see Dad again someday!" Angelina exclaimed, still trying to force her away from the window.

But at the mention of her late husband, Maria froze and stared suddenly at Angelina as if she was a child.

"Yes, dear. It will be ok. Daddy will be home from work soon." The woman smiled sweetly and then froze, as a sharp chill filled the room. Angelina, who had been looking at her mother with tears in her eyes, looked to see the Dementors flocking about the window.

"Mom, run!" Angelina shouted, trying to steer her away from the Dementors.

Maria was frozen stiff. The hopelessness and loss she was feeling was written on her face, as a Dementor glided through the window, sucking on the air around them.

A cold sweat was breaking out on Angelina, feeling her happiness being sucked out of her and her mother as four Dementors floated around the sitting room, feasting on the happiness that remained intact in the two battle-scarred women.

Thoughts weren't making sense in her mind, which was numb with sadness. Her arm feeling heavy, Angelina lifted her wand.

"Protego." She said, a faint shield expanding between a Dementor and her mother. The Dementor floated through it like it wasn't there; even a strong Shield Charm wouldn't have held it off.

"Expecto…" Angelina said weakly. She had never been able to make a corporeal Patronus in Dumbledore's Army. And now when there were no happy memories she could grasp and she couldn't do proper magic with her wand anyway, she felt she could hardly get the words out. "Expecto…"

The room was getting duller. She fought to stay conscious. A Dementor was feasting away on her happiness. The rattling breathing was all she could hear. She fell to her knees and backed up against the wall. And then she saw her mother.

Three of the four Dementors were swarming around her body like flies feasting on decaying flesh; Maria was lying on the ground, barely conscious.

"Sam… Sam…" Her mother whispered, speaking to herself the only name that mattered to her. She let out a scream and was shaking all over. Angelina could hardly imagine the horror she was reliving.

"Expecto Patronum…" Angelina said. A whisper of silver vapor came from her wand. "Expecto Patronum!" She cried, mustering all of her emotion on life at Hogwarts—flying with the Quidditch team, sharing a dorm with her friend Alicia, no wars going on, and being with Fred. But would she ever see Fred again? She needed to believe that she would. A small silver shield presented itself in front of her from her wand. It was repelling the lone Dementor away from her. But she needed to get rid of the Dementors attacking her mum.

Through the shield, she saw a Dementor lower it's hood. It was going to suck out her mother's soul. Angelina's insides went numb, as if she swallowed an ice cube. The Patronus shield flickered and vanished. The two other Dementors that were feasting on her mom's emotions seemed to realize that she was going to be finished by the other Dementor, and they glided through the room at Angelina, joining the one that was repelled by the shield.

And then she saw it. The hoodless Dementor—without the dark hood it normally bore, it's head was a mound of grey rotting skin, with two dead holes for empty eye sockets It lowered it's mouth to Maria's and consumed half of her face with a cavernous opening of darkness and depression.

Angelina's vision became blurred, and through the rattling breathes, she thought she heard a voice calling her name right before the room was engulfed in darkness.

Her limbs felt heavy and her head felt light and dizzy. Angelina felt herself drenched in cold sweat and slowly opened her eyes. The light that met her was blinding and she shut her eyes, seeing little red lights in her eyelids. After a moment she opened them again, and saw that she was looking up at the ceiling of a room, with rafters above. She turned her head to see messy belongings strewn all about. She was in Fred's room.

She looked on the other side of the room and saw she was not alone. A man was sitting in a chair beside the bed. He had his ginger head in his head and looked lost. Perhaps this was what made him look so unfamiliar. He was shaking uncontrollably. He looked older.

Though Angelina felt like she was charged down by a hippogriff and wasn't quite sure what was going on or what day it was, she knew the man sobbing in the chair by her bed was indeed the man she loved.

She lifted a heavy hand off the bed and reached out to touch Fred's knee. He looked up immediately at the contact and a huge smile broke out onto his watery face.

"Angel." He breathed a sigh of relief. He squeezed her hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss it repeatedly. "It's ok. Everything's going to be fine." He said fervently, like it was his prayer.

She looked at him, taking in the sight. He was pale and tear-stricken, but it was Fred Weasley. She thought bizarrely that this was the first time she was seeing him—was able to touch him—since Dumbledore's death. Angelina looked at the table next to him and saw two mirrors lying next to each other. She remembered.

"What happened, Fred?" She whispered, trying to sit up.

"Don't try and move." He said, gently having her lie down again. "Everything's fine."

"But there were… Dementors. In the house… what happened? How am I here?" She asked, looking around impatiently. Something wasn't right.

"I called your name in the mirror and you weren't answering. I knew something had to be wrong, so I apparated there and saw the Dementors around you…" He hesitated, the weight of bad news written all over his face. "And I cast a Patronus Charm to send them away and brought you here. It's been a few hours since then."

"Where's mum?" She said weakly, tears already leaking from the corners of her eyes. "I want to see her." She sat, propelling herself out of bed, automatically feeling dizzy and nauseous. Fred caught her as she swayed.

"Sit down, Angel." He steered her to the bed again, with a look of such overwhelming compassion and grief. Angelina burst into heavy tears, the weight of the past few hours crashing down. All the sadness the Dementors brought was returning. His look confirmed the worst. "It was too late. By the time I got there, she was gone." Fred sat down behind her, wrapping her heaving body in his arms.

This was the horrors the war brought. Angelina cried, holding onto the warmth of Fred's love, as he held her, and somehow knowing the worst was still yet to come.

"I'm here for you, Angel. We still have each other. I'll always be here."

A/N: I'm starting to feel like I'm being incredibly mean! Writing that even brings tears to my eyes. (Sorry!) Gosh, J.K. Rowling! Why Fred?! Why?! That was horribly cruel. (That part would have still had the desired effect if it was Percy instead… Grrrr… Although the pages of my book might be drier and more legible.)


	8. Nice End to the Day

A/N: Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! They really mean a lot to me! Third-last chapter—this takes place during the "Potterwatch" program that Harry, Ron, and Hermione heard that Fred was on. Also, something I found interesting: In an interview, J.K. Rowling said that Lupin and Tonks weren't originally supposed to die. Mr. Weasley was going to die. I also found a great site from TheLeakyCauldron. It's an interview for J.K. Rowling, with tons of questions about the book and unanswered questions from the epilogue. It's great—it made me cry! (Ron helps George with the joke shop! I might incorporate some of what happened-but not in the book-into the fanfic, so those ideas won't be mine, it'll be J.K. Rowling's)

Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. Some of the beginning dialogue is taken directly from book 7.

Chapter 8

"…but the fact remains he can move faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo when he wants to, so don't count on him being a long way away if you're planning on taking any risks." Angelina laughed, listening to "Potterwatch" with George in the dormitory. She was still in awe of Fred's ability to find humor in anything—with the war going on. "I'd never thought I'd hear myself say it, but safety first!"

Angelina looked at George who was nodding in agreement, staring intently at the radio, as Lee wrapped up the broadcast.

"Well they're certainly good at what they do." Angelina said when it was over. "Bound to make people feel safer hearing encouragement from people on our side."

"Yep. It is." George agreed nodding. "The humor really helps. When I was on, Lee called me Rudolph." He chuckled to himself.

"Really?"

"Yeah, so instead I had him call me Romeo."

"Romeo? Like from that Muggle romance play?" Angelina asked. George shrugged. "Speaking of romance, how's everything with Alicia? I heard you got back together!"

"Yep, we did." George beamed.

"Maybe she can move in here with us. Kinda like Hogwarts!" Angelina thought out loud.

"And Lee and Katie could move in too." George added. "Just like Hogwarts."

"Seems like a lifetime ago." Angelina said quietly. They sat in silence for a moment, deep in thought. George began absentmindedly stroking the dark hole in his head.

"George, stop doing that! It's disgusting!" Angelina exclaimed, laughing.

"Sorry Ang. It's hard to get used to having one ear." He laughed, standing up to pace the room.

"Did it hurt?" She asked.

"Not really. I kind of blacked out after it happened. Fred and I are tough though. We don't let on when we're in pain or scared—we usually laugh it off—" He explained, but stopped catching the worried expression on her face. "Ang, no. I shouldn't have said that. You have nothing to worry about—hey, where are you going?"

Angelina walked hastily to their bedroom and grabbed her mirror.

"You don't have to use that. Fred's fine and I was being an idiot."

"No George, don't worry about it. I just want to check in. Fred Weasley." She said, calling into the mirror. Within moments, Fred's face filled the mirror.

"Hey beautiful. You like the broadcast?" Fred asked Angelina with a playful grin on his face.

"It was inspiring, darling." George said, looking at the mirror over Angelina's shoulder.

"Glad you liked it, Rudolph." Fred grinned cheekily.

"Specially like the Snape comment, Rodent." George commented.

"Angel, I'm fine." Fred said seriously, noticing her worried face. "We're just finishing removing all the broadcasting and protection charms, and then I'll be back."

"Ok." She said, feeling George pat her on the back reassuringly.

"So I'll see you soon, Angel." Fred said.

"All right. Bye Fred." She said and he smiled at her before vanishing from the mirror.

"See? I told you he was fine." George said.

"Yeah." She mumbled, sitting down at the table, still clutching her mirror. "How long will it take to take down the enchantments?"

George shook his head and said, "You have nothing to worry about. But right now you need to distract yourself." He tool out his wand.

"What are you doing?" She asked, confused.

"Stand up and take out you wand. Fred said your magic was a bit off. Let's practice."

"Ok…" She stood up and took out her wand. "Are we going to duel?"

"No. I wouldn't want to hurt you—Fred would kill me. We're going to play Quidditch."

"What?" She asked, a smile creeping on her face at the thought of it.

"Well, kind of. We can't fly indoors, so what we'll do is…" He paused, conjuring three hoops with his wand and levitating them in the air. He then walked to a cabinet in the corner of the room and took out a Quaffle. "You can make the ball go through the hoops, but only with your wand. I'll play as Keeper." He tossed her the Quaffle. They began to play and George surprised her by blocking almost all her attempts.

"You'd make a good Keeper!" She exclaimed after a while.

"Thanks, but I prefer—" He stopped suddenly and listened. Someone was downstairs.

"Is that Fred?" She whispered. "He should be back by now."

"Ang, we should leave." George said grabbing a broken oil lamp from a cupboard. "I have a port key for the Burrow."

"What about Fred?" She exclaimed, the footsteps growing louder as it's owner ran up the stairs.

"Just come on." George said. "_Portus._" The lamp glowed blue.

"Don't use that!" A voice yelled as the door swung open.

"_Expelliarmus!" _George yelled immediately. Bill's wand flew out of his hand and Angelina caught it.

"Bill?!" George yelled in surprise. Angelina handed Bill his wand.

"Come on. Where's Fred? Angelina, you should come too. We have to go. Now." Bill ordered, looking worried.

"What's going on?" Angelina asked.

"Fred's with Lee. He was on Potterwatch." George said.

"But that was two hours ago, we heard it!" Bill exclaimed.

"What?" Angelina cried. She not realized so much time had passed. "But—"

"Ang, don't worry. They're with Remus and Kingsley, remember? He' safe." George said. Bill looked skeptical. "Remus and Kingsley are great wizards, though. They'll be able to handle things!"

"But look what happened to Moody. One of the best Aurors." Bill said. "They could be in trouble."

Angelina hurried to the table and picked up her mirror, calling Fred's name feeling faint.

Fred appeared in the mirror, wincing in pain and covered with sweat.

"Ang—I can't talk." He said, panting. Red light illuminated his face, as if a hex flew past him. "We'll make it back. I love you." He said, sounding faint. And he was gone from the mirror, before she could say, "I love you too". Angelina felt herself being lead to a chair and helped into it. George sat down in a chair next to her and held her hand in a brotherly manner, to tell her everything would be all right. But the feat Angelina felt was mirrored on his pale face. Bill sat down across from them, looking nervous as well.

"Listen, we need to move the whole family to Aunt Muriel's. You need to go into hiding."

George and Angelina looked up in shock.

"Why?" George asked.

"Ron, Harry, and Hermione just apparated to my house. They just escaped from Malfoy Manner—I think they were captured." Bill explained. "But the Death Eaters know Ron's with Harry, so they'll be bound to be after us."

"So we're leaving?" George asked.

"Yes. You need to go pack up whatever you're going to need." Bill said, with authority in his voice.

"What about Fred?" Angelina asked, her voice shaking as she stood up.

"You should pack his stuff, so we can leave as soon as he returns." He said, keeping the tone of his voice positive. Angelina nodded and she and George started to their rooms. "I have to go to the Burrow." Bill added. "To move the rest of the family. I'll be back soon. We'll be apparating, but I want to go with you to be safe."

"Ok." George said.

Bill hesitated. "If Fred doesn't return before I come back, we'll have to leave anyway. We can't afford to lose much time. We'll be able to reach him when we're at Aunt Muriel's though. See you soon." Bill said disapperating.

Angelina walked into their room feeling confused. Fred couldn't be… She couldn't even think about it. She couldn't think that she might not ever see him again. She looked around the room, feeling dizzy and disconnected from it. She didn't know what to pack; she grabbed random objects—not knowing if they were Fred's or hers—and put them in a bag with her wand.

After a while she picked up the bag and put it on the kitchen table. Not knowing what else to do, she walked over to George's room holding her wand and the mirror. She stood, feeling numb, at the doorway and found herself strangely noting that his room was cleaner than Fred's. George was stuffing pairs of socks into a bag and nodded to her, signaling that she could come in. Angelina sat down on George's bed, feeling disconnected from her own body.

"He said "I love you"." Angelina burst out, a tear falling from her eyes. "Like he knew it would be the last time."

"Don't say that, Angelina." George said sharply. He was pale and angry, but as he saw Angelina's tear-streaked face his expression softened. "Here." He said, grabbing a handkerchief from the open bag and handing it to her. "He's—he's not… I would know. You would know, too."

She nodded stiffly and continued to cry silently. George sat down next to her, his hands shaking slightly. Angelina looked at him and couldn't help thinking how—besides the missing ear—every inch of George was identical to Fred. She looked away hastily and walked into the kitchen, not wanting to look at him. She sat down at the table and looked at the mirror, as if almost daring it to show her Fred.

Suddenly, she heard a _crack_ and she looked up to see Lee holding Fred up against him.

Immediately relieve filled her, but was replaced by panic almost as instantly. He was covered in blood.

"Fred!" She shrieked and ran towards him as Lee settled him on a couch, helping him lie down. George hurried over to Fred's side, tossing his bag aside.

"It's not all his blood, Ang, it's a Death Eater's." Lee exclaimed, to try and calm her down. He pointed his wand at Fred and siphoned up all the blood, so they could see the source of the problem. There was no wound, but blood was seeping into his shirt. Lee ripped open the shirt to find multiple criss-crossing gashes across Fred's upper chest.

"Sectumsempra." George breathed. "That's what it was. The same thing that cut off my ear."

"He lost a lot of blood." Lee said. "How do we—?"

Bill apparated in the room with a _crack_ and ran over to the couch. He stared at his brother's body with a look of horror on his face, and then he pulled out his wand and mended the wounds. Fred awoke with a start.

"Fred." Angelina breathed, relieved. He squeezed her hand weakly, causing a few tears to fall from her eyes.

"He's going to need something for the blood loss, but he should be fine. We need to go though." Bill said.

"Where are you going?" Lee demanded as Angelina helped Fred up sniffling and George grabbed both of the bags.

"Into hiding. Ron was caught by Death Eaters along with Harry and Hermione. They escaped, but the Death Eaters will be after us. We need to leave now and I recommend you do the same." Bill said, turning to face George. He nodded, as if to signal that he should disapperate.

"See you mate." George said to Lee, and he turned on the spot.

"You got him?" Bill asked Angelina, who was holding Fred securely.

"Yes. Bye Lee." She said, and she disapperated with Fred alongside Bill, leaving Lee alone in the dorm.

They arrived inside a large old mansion and was greeted by the Weasley clan, who were waiting for them in a sitting room.

"Freddie!" Molly cried, her face white with shock. She helped Angelina sit him down on a couch.

"Here, drink this." Arthur said, handing him a goblet of red liquid. Fred drank it and slowly the color returned to his face.

"Dear, are you all right?" Molly asked worriedly, tears brimming in her eyes. "George says you were attacked after the broadcast tonight."

"I'm fine Mum, really." He said squeezing her hand as she sat down next to him. He searched the room for Angelina and found her standing beside George with tears running down her face. He smiled at her and said again, "I'm really all right."

"What happened?" Ginny asked anxiously.

Fred took a deep breath and launched into the story.

"When we finished packing up the station, we went outside the tent we set up to take it down and we heard someone hidden in the woods. We usually just apparate home afterwards, but we knew we were being watched so we started walking to get some distance between us before we apparated. We didn't realize that we were completely surrounded by Death Eaters, and so when we started walking they all kind of charged us, and we were completely outnumbered, eight to four. We fought them off pretty well for a while. Kingsley and Remus each killed one of them, I think. I'm surprised we all survived, with those odds. We managed to stun one of them and another got transfigured into a flobberworm somehow. But these last four were awful. It was Rookwood, Macnair, Dolohov, and one I didn't recognize. Macnair hit me with Sectumsempra and I fell unconscious pretty quickly. I came to right before Angelina called me on the mirror and then I turned around to see Kingsley kill the Death Eater I didn't know. But at this, Dolohov started using the Cruciatus Curse on him until Remus ran right up to him and punched him in the face. I guess I was looking pretty bad, cause Kingsley ordered Lee to disapperate with me, right after Lee stunned Rookwood. Kingsley was dueling with Macnair and Lupin was still fighting Dolohov, but I think they're fine." Everyone fell silent in the room, until Mrs. Weasley started to cry.

"Mum, there's nothing to cry about, I'm fine!" Fred exclaimed.

"Yes, Mum. He's so fine that he's ready for another round with Death Eaters." George said, chuckling.

"No. I'm feeling up to the whole army of them!" Fred joked.

"STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU! I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO JOKE ABOUT THIS WAR!" Mrs. Weasley yelled. Fred and George stopped laughing.

"We were just trying to lighten the mood, Mum." Fred said.

"Fred, we almost lost you today!" Angelina cried.

"I'm sorry." Fred said, studying her carefully, hating to see her so worried.

"Oh Fred!" Molly said, pulling him into a hug. "I almost lost two of my boys today."

"Speaking of which, I should be going home." Bill said.

"Oh, of course dear. Take care of Ron and Harry and Hermione. And yourself, of course. And Fleur." Molly babbled anxiously, holding Bill tight in a hug.

"Yes Mum. You have nothing to worry about. The house is under Fidilius Charm, just like here." Bill said, pulling away. "Goodbye everyone." He left.

Angelina slumped on the sofa next to Ginny.

"You know… I'm kinda tired. Maybe I could get some sleep." Fred said, looking at Angelina.

"Oh yes. We all should go to bed." Molly said, prodding Ginny as if to see if she was still awake.

"Yeah, we should." Angelina said, standing up after Fred did. He put his hand on her back for support. As they passed, George handed Fred the bag, and turned to walk with them.

"Wait." Molly said. "Fred and George, you know you two are sharing a room? Angelina can share with Ginny."

"What?" Fred asked, incredulously.

"You heard me. This is your Great Aunt's house and she is kindly offering us her hospitality. I know you share a room back at the shop, but you and Angelina will not share a room unless you are married." Molly said firmly. Angelina felt her cheeks grow warm, and saw this reflecting on the faces and necks of every Weasley in the room.

"Molly, I…" Mr. Weasley started, but faltered under the vulture-like glare of his wife.

"That's fine, Mrs. Weasley. I'll stay with Ginny." Angelina said, though inside she was far from fine.

"No. Mum, it's been a long day. Angelina and I just want to get some sleep." Fred said.

"If sleeping is all you're planning on doing, you should be capable of doing so in separate rooms." Mrs. Weasley said curtly.

"Mum!" Fred exclaimed, flaring up at her. Angelina was surprised he didn't recoil under his mother's glance, but he instead stood his ground. She felt awful for this, like she was intruding. Maybe she should just leave all together.

"There are plenty of extra bedrooms, Mum. I can sleep in one of those." George offered, looking desperate to end the awkwardness and help out his twin.

"You know full well that is not the issue George!" Molly snapped.

"Hey, Mum? Can I be excused?" Ginny asked, blushing fiercely and looking like she would much rather be asleep.

"Yes." She said, still staring at Fred. Ginny threw Angelina a sympathetic look on her way up.

"This is inappropriate beyond measure. In your own house, you can do what you please, but not in here!" Molly continued.

"Mum, you're not being reasonable! Ang and I are in love." Fred declared passionately. He hesitated and added, "We're going to get married."

Mr. Weasley's jaw dropped. Angelina saw Molly's eyes search her ring-less finger. George let out a whoop. Angelina looked at Fred and he smiled reassuringly, though his eyes revealed that he had no clue what he gotten himself into.

"You're getting married." Molly repeated, looking dizzy with shock, as she fell into a chair.

"It's not official yet, but, yeah. We're planning on it." Fred said, slipping his hand into Angelina's. "That's how serious we are."

"That's… two of my boys…" Mrs. Weasley said to herself. She looked at Angelina and suddenly beamed, crossing the room to give her a hug. When she pulled away, her face was wet with tears. Speechless, Angelina smiled at her. "Freddie!" Molly cooed, kissing him on the cheek.

"Good for you, son." Arthur said, hugging Fred. "I'm proud of you." He beamed at Angelina and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Thank you. I always worried that no woman would be able to tolerate that one." He winked.

George clapped Fred on the shoulder and walked upstairs smiling.

"Well…" Mrs. Weasley said, dabbing her eyes. "That certainly was a nice end to the day."

"Mum, dad. It's not official." Fred reminded them, but they didn't appear to hear him.

"Let's get some sleep, dear." Molly said to her husband, walking upstairs.

Fred and Angelina followed, slipping off into their own room, finally alone.

"Well, all in all, I think that worked out in our favor." Fred said dropping the bag on the floor and helping Angelina pull back the bed sheets. "I hope they didn't creep you out."

"Not at all." She said. In truth she was beyond surprised at their reactions, but nonetheless flattered and relieved. And after the events of that evening, the boyish grin on Fred's face and the thought of being his wife made Angelina feel positively elated, happy that she still had him there to hold.

"Are you all right?" Fred asked, as they lay down in bed.

"Yes. I'm definitely better. Just glad you're alive." She said, regretting her word choice immediately, as tears prickled her eyes. Fred held her close. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Perfect." He mumbled, sleep starting to creep up on him. He smiled at her and kissed her gently. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She said, relieved that she could say those words to him.

"Good night, Mrs. Weasley." Fred said, starting to snore peacefully a moment later.

A/N: So that was a long chapter! Thanks for keeping with it! Review!!!


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